Users of software applications (whether stand-alone applications or networked applications such as web-based applications) frequently need help understanding the features of applications and/or making optimal use of those features. To provide help in such cases, many software manufacturers offer one or more forms of online (i.e., provided over a network such as a local area network (LAN) and/or the Internet) customer support. Online customer support typically takes one of two forms: a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document and/or a more open-ended question and answer format.
A FAQ document is typically a series of questions and answers that provide detailed information about a limited set of product features—specifically, those features that are thought to be most relevant to the largest number of customers. Features that are relevant to only a small number of customers or that deal with esoteric situations are typically not addressed in FAQ documents. FAQ documents are typically compiled manually by software developers and/or other product experts familiar with the application in question. Because FAQ documents are manually generated, their relevance and accuracy depend on manual updates, for example when new features are added to the application.
Other, more open-ended questions and answers may take many different forms. For example, users may be able to ask questions in an online message forum, where other users (often including software developers and/or other product experts) are able to answer those questions in subsequent messages. Further, users may be able to initiate online chat sessions with customer service representatives, thereby allowing the users to obtain personalized assistance with specific questions. Though generally quite pertinent to the users' concerns, open-ended questions and answers may not be readily available to other users —depending, for example, on whether the questions and answers are stored in a location accessible to other users and the grammatical correctness of the questions and answers.